Cockpit

This particular Raven II has a "glass cockpit", which means that the primary instruments are on the digital screen, with analog "steam gauge" instruments only used as backups. (For the pilots: it's a G500H primary and secondary flight display driven by a 430 for navigation)
This is the first Robinson helicopter I've ever flown that has a glass cockpit, and it is insanely cool. The future is (finally) now!

Starting up...

After an extremely thorough preflight (after all, we'll be going over some interesting terrain!), we start up our Raven II's 245 horsepower, fuel-injected engine.
We have two aboard (you and me, your humble pilot!), full fuel, air conditioning on "low" (68ºF outside, but the sun's shining into the bubble...), warning lights are out, gauges are in the green ... let's start beating the air into submission!

"Departure from the spot at your own risk..."

A max power takeoff (vertical) is standard procedure at KPAO to clear the light poles when taking off from "the spot". The controller says "departure from the spot at your own risk" because they can just barely see you from the tower, and the spot is also a non-controlled area.

"Cross midspan, San Mateo Bridge..."

On our way across the Bay to KOAK we cross "mid-span" of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. This means the middle of the flat portion of the bridge, which threads us neatly between the San Francisco (KSFO) class Bravo, the KOAK class Charlie, and the Hayward (KHWD) class Delta airspace.

"Traffic, 3 o'clock, Southwest 737 heavy..."

If you look really closely, you can see a Southwest jet almost wheels down before the KOAK runway 30 threshold. Just a minute ago they were blazing in from 5000' on a 7 mile final approach. Another Southwest 737 holds short, waiting to takeoff on the same runway.
We climbed to 2000' per the controller's instructions to avoid the heavy jet's wake turbulence.

"Cross the Runway 30 numbers..."

Our Southwest friend is wheels down, about halfway down KOAK's runway 30. We have been instructed to cross over the 30 numbers next, at or below 2000'. We start a shallow dive at 120-125 knots (138-143mph), from 2000' to 1300'

"Then the Oakland Coliseum..."

Our next waypoint is the Oakland Coliseum (home of the Oakland Raiders and the Athletics) and Oracle Arena (home of the Golden State Warriors). This moves us out of the departure corridors of runways 30, 27L, and 27R ... the three busiest of the four KOAK runways.

"Contact Norcal on 135.1, g'day..."

We say goodbye to our friends at Oakland Tower (they are really cool guys and gals!) and hand off to Norcal, the approach and departure controllers for Northern California.
We'll stay with Norcal since there's usually lots of other aircraft to see and avoid. The Class E airspace around the city of San Francisco doesn't require you to be in contact with air traffic control, but -- even though we have ADS-B and our own eyes -- it's always nice to have an extra pair of radar-equipped eyes looking out for you!
Looks like there's a lot of traffic at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza, but that traffic should be no factor for us ... after all, we're in a helicopter!

"Resume own navigation, remain North and West of the Bay Bridge..."

The new Eastern span of the Bay Bridge (closer to us) sits in contrast to the old span, which will be demolished by late 2016. Some kind of regatta is taking place in Treasure Island's Clipper Cove. And the mysterious Google Barge looms on the end of Pier 1.
But, in the distance, the city beckons us! Onward!

One Rincon Hill, Towers I and II

The Tower II of One Rincon Hill is under construction and will be completed this year, clocking in at 52 stories and 550' vs its bigger brother Tower I at 60 floors and 640'. Their bases sit at approximately 100' above sea level, on top of Rincon Hill.
Almost all of South Beach is a "liquefaction zone", which means that during an earthquake the man-made landfill that makes up the area could shift and settle, almost like a liquid. Due to this danger, massive pylons are build down from the towers' foundations until they meet solid rock. Along with mass dampeners and other technologies, this keeps the towers safe in earthquakes and strong winds.
The elevators in these towers can move at speeds up to 1200 feet per minute (about half as fast as our maximum climb speed!), and there are large pools of hydraulic fluid at the bottom of the elevator shafts which can stop a falling elevator without injuring passengers.

The Ferry Building

OK, enough geeking out on skyscrapers. Onwards!
The aptly named Ferry Building is the stop for several Ferry lines... to places like Alameda, Vallejo, Sausalito, Tiburon, and Larkspur. It's also home to a wide variety of gourmet food companies -- fresh, local fruit, cheese, wine, steak, and more. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, there's a farmer's market with more of the same plus some delicious street food vendors and restaurants.
San Francisco's confusingly numbered piers stretch around the Embarcadero (pier 40 just below us is 100 feet from pier 38, but three miles from pier 39!).
The Transamerica Pyramid makes a showing, and Coit tower sits atop Telegraph Hill further in the distance.

Piers 39 and 41

First we see the most popular tourist spot in SF, Pier 39. Get your clam chowder in a sourdough breadbowl, browse a store entirely dedicated to socks, watch the sea lions, let the kids play on the carousel, and be sure to stop by the taffy and chocolate shops before you leave!
Just beyond is Pier 41, where you can catch a ferry to just about anywhere you could from the Ferry Building ... but also to Angel Island where there are some beautiful picnic and camping areas.

The Bay

Speedboats, sailboats, an oil tanker, and a ferry keep us company today. No cargo ships in sight, though... you'll sometimes see them hauling their goods en route from China to the Port of Oakland.
The big hill to the far right is Angel Island, but that tiny island sitting off by itself looks more interesting, so let's get a closer look...

"The Rock"

Alcatraz Island looks pretty empty ... must be between tours. Wish we could land there, but that might end up with us taking a lovely visit to San Quentin instead (and for much more than just a tour!)!
An active lighthouse shines at night, if you eat dinner at Pier 39 you can see it cutting like a laser through the fog.
It's hard to see from here, but there's graffiti on the water tower. Native American activists occupied Alcatraz for over a year in the 1960s in protest of broken treaties and termination of tribal areas.
Alcatraz tours are available, but the coolest one by far is the "night tour". Make sure to sign up well in advance for that one if you plan on visiting again, it's extremely popular!

Golden Gate Park

Here's Golden Gate Park, 20% bigger than Central Park and, in my opinion, the best park in the city. The California Academy of Science and the de Young museum are off to the bottom right. Sutro Tower stands out on top of one of the Twin Peaks, almost menacingly, in the distance.

Dolores Park

Dolores Park, a.k.a. the 2nd best park in the city, unless you are a hipster :)
It's an especially clear day in the Mission, given the hazy "microclimate" normally surrounding this area. I think it has something to do with the vaporous emissions of a popular local herb...
We slow down and circle at 30 knots a couple of times, just doing our best to enhance the "mental experiences" of our friends "lounging on the grass" below. (http://i.imgur.com/ohYY5.jpg)

Market Street

We turn towards the North, and see Mason Street stretching to the North and Market Street diagonally towards the Northeast. The Ferry Building clock tower can be seen between the Financial District skyscrapers.
The Transamerica Pyramid pokes up on the North side of the FiDi, and Coit Tower and Alcatraz can be seen in the distance.
Coit tower was named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit, an "eccentric" San Franciscan (is there any other?) who became San Francisco's first female firefighter. She left money in her estate to the city, which used it to build the tower in her honor. Some people think it was designed to resemble a firehose nozzle, but apparently that was just a coincidence!
You can pay a few dollars to go up to Coit Tower's observation deck, that and Twin Peaks are some of the best views in the city ... well, that is, besides the one you have right now!

"Cleared to enter class Bravo, maintain 3500'..."

Alas, it's about time to bring the bird back to roost.
We request clearance to head back to Palo Alto through San Francisco's class Bravo airspace. Due to a busy set of departures, we'll climb to 3,500' and follow the Shoreline highway (Highway 1) until we are clear of KSFO's runway 28L and 28R departure corridors.
Fog (specifically, advection fog) is rolling in fast. During the day, the land mass heats up more quickly than the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean. As the hot air rises in the East Bay, the prevailing winds are pulled in from the North/Northwest and cool the land as they bring the fog in over the city at night.

"Cleared direct Palo Alto, altitude your discretion..."

We're clear of the departure end of 28L and 28R, so we get clearance for a direct path back to Palo Alto. Once we clear the advancing line of fog, we'll go a bit lower ... 2000' should be good to stay in the Bravo and out of San Carlos's Delta airspace until we get to Palo Alto.

Crystal Springs Reservoir

We're just above Crystal Springs Reservoir, which sits directly on top of the San Andreas fault. Very precise instruments buried in the ground measure the relative movement of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. If the "Big One" happens, it'll come from somewhere along this line.
SFO and its four 11,000+ feet runways sit on the near edge of the Bay.

R22 hover practice

A student practices hovering in an R22, the smaller sibling of the R44. I've heard it described as being like balancing a small elephant on top of a greased bowling ball. You should give it a try next time, many helicopter schools offer a discovery flight for $200-300 and it is a life event worth saving up for!

Hover-taxiing

The friendly instructor in the R22 takes the controls and zooms sideways, making room for our hover taxi back to parking. Ground squirrels leap between holes and run around in their underground network of tunnels as we roar over the field.

Parking

Spin down

Spot-to-spot, round trip time: 54 minutes. Now *that's* traveling!
A fixed-wing friend in the Cessna Skyhawk taxis by as our rotors spin down.
There's a large amount of inertia in the rotors ... 300-400 pounds in each of the two rotors, spinning at 481mph at the tip (and Robinsons are actually low-inertia compared to other helicopters!). That's about 60 kilojoules of kinetic energy, or about the same energy as a Prius going 15mph... all just in the rotors. This inertia helps us a lot in autorotations, an emergency procedure where the helicopter glides with no engine power. (there's 20-50x that energy in your forward airspeed, and 2-4x *that* in your altitude while cruising at 1300' and 60-100 knots, so follow that height velocity diagram, helicopter pilots!)
Since our stomachs are grumbling and, unlike the Prius, our rotors are beautifully aerodynamic, we'll pull the rotor brake instead of relying on drag to slow them down (that would take a looooong time).
It is now safe to exit the helicopter, thanks for coming on the Reddit Virtual Bay Tour! I hope you enjoyed it!